The table is set, the small sandwiches and cakes are laid out, the cups and saucers are at the ready and the tea is brewing. Today it can be as simple as a cuppa and a biscuit to help re-energize, or as fancy as an elaborate event where you gather many like-minded people and leave stuffed. This all started back in the early 19<sup>th</sup> century, but for the full story we have to time travel a little bit more.
Around the 18<sup>th</sup> century in London, tea started to overtake the popular coffeehouses of the time. Coffee needed to be roasted, ground and brewed before a cup could be enjoyed, but tea just needed to brew and then the hot cup of caffeine was ready to go. Tea gardens replaced coffeehouses as gathering places and people were seen mingling, watching entertainers and sipping tea while enjoying the gardens. Tea is so convenient that when the tea gardens fell out of fashion, people continued drinking tea at home.
As the 19<sup>th</sup> century arrived, so too did a new schedule. Dinnertime now started at 8 or 9 in the evening. A midday lunch and late dinner left people feeling low energy between the two. To combat this, Anna Maria, the Duchess of Bedford, began to enjoy a cup of tea in the afternoon. At first she did so privately or with the occasional guest. Options were Chinese or Indian tea and some toast and bread to nibble on. Quickly teatime became popular, with large social gatherings for all classes. As the gatherings grew so did the food options, which now included cakes and tiny sandwiches. As for tea, Earl Grey became the afternoon tea staple, especially during the summertime.
This recipe is a combination of the things enjoyed during tea time. There is tea, there is cake, and this is a tea cake, literally! This particular cake recipe is sweet (but not too sweet), moist, and has a nice crumb. It takes soaking syrups really well and can freeze nicely. The base is easy to add any sort of flavoring to, which is why it works so well when adding Earl Grey. Like many herbs and flowers, Earl Grey tea has its challenges when being added to a dish. Too little and there is almost no point in adding it, but too much and you enter the soap taste territory. This cake recipe has been perfected to avoid all of that so you have the balance of bitter and earthy Earl Grey mixed with lemon that plays off of the bergamot notes. It utilizes the tea in two ways to really help the flavors develop in multiple steps. Use it for afternoon tea, as it is a light cake, or omit the decorations and use it as a foundation for a layered cake.
Charlotte Kryska owns a small craft chocolate business called Hapa Chocolat and is a part-time croissant expert at Voyager Craft Coffee. She’s been working in kitchens in the Bay Area since 2011 and has a pastry degree from Le Cordon Bleu, London.
Ingredients
- Butter (for pan)
- 1⁄3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon Earl Grey tea leaves
- 1⁄3 cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or extract)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (about half a lemon)
- ½ cup canola oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Earl Grey tea leaves
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla paste (or extract)
- ½ lemon
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1⁄8 cup water
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line an 8-inch round cake pan with parchment paper. Grease with butter and set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat the milk on low until steaming. Remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon of Earl Grey tea leaves. Steep for as long as possible, ideally overnight, in the fridge.
Measure the sour cream in a small bowl. Using a strainer, pour the cooled tea-infused milk into the sour cream and combine.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest until pale. Slowly add the oil while mixing.
Grind the remaining teaspoon of Earl Grey tea leaves in a spice grinder. Sift together the flour, Earl Grey powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Alternate adding the flour mixture and sour cream mixture to the egg mixture, doing at least three inclusions of dry and two inclusions of sour cream.
Once combined, pour batter into the prepared cake pan.
Bake for 35–45 minutes
About this recipe
Mix powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla paste together. Once the cake is cool, apply the glaze on top. Decorate with candied lemon peel, if using. Allow to set before serving.
NOTE: This recipe uses one whole lemon. Zest half for the cake, peel the other half for the candied peel (optional), then cut to squeeze for the juice in the glaze.
Peel the lemon, being careful not to get too much pith. Slice lengthwise to create matchsticks.
Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the lemon peels, then lower the heat and simmer for five minutes. Remove the peels from the saucepan and spread them out on parchment to cool and harden. This can be done in advance. Note: The lemon syrup can be saved and used to mix into beverages or to soak into the cake if you desire more lemon flavor.
The origins of Earl Grey tea
The origins of Earl Grey tea begin with Charles Grey, the second Earl Grey and Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1830 to 1834. It is said that he was on a diplomatic trip to China when he managed to save a Chinese nobleman. In thanks, the nobleman gifted Grey a tea blend of Chinese black tea and bergamot oil. Fruit tea blends were very popular in China at the time, and Grey happily accepted the gift and brought it home to England, where it became a huge success.
Except this isn’t true. The main flavor for Earl Grey tea is indeed bergamot, a citrus that originates from Southeast Asia, but during this time it was not growing in China. Therefore it could not be part of a blend that was gifted to Grey. What most likely happened, although no one knows for sure, is that Grey fell in love with the fruit tea blends while in China, and upon his return to England, wanted to make his own with what he had. They had black tea and—thanks to the booming perfume industry—they had bergamot oil. He had the two combined, put his name on it, and it truly became the most popular tea in the world.
